How To Fill Stairs Perfectly With Concrete?

Since ancient times, the stairs are an integral architectural element of most buildings. Fill stairs perfectly with concrete. In addition to the main purpose, steps can be an accent and a successful addition to the interior or exterior. With the development of technology, high-tech and industrial styles became particularly popular, the appearance of which influenced the construction of stairs.

You can divide the room into zones, make the interior interesting and dynamic. Directly from the location of the stairs and porch will depend on the layout of low-rise and high-rise buildings. For pouring different materials are used, but more often than not, builders make stairs perfectly with concrete. You can also apply creatively concrete blocks.

Fill Stairs Perfectly With Concrete

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Preparation

Pouring steps with concrete require preparation. First of all, it is necessary to determine the number, height, and width of the steps, calculate the approximate monetary costs. The width of the steps should exceed the width of the entrance doors by at least fifteen centimeters. If the builders plan to make a wide area near the building, you can increase the parameters of the porch. It is also important to think about the need to fill the ramp.

Each step should be about seventeen centimeters high, about thirty centimeters wide. The slope of the concrete stair should be forty-five degrees, if this figure is higher, then it will be difficult to climb the stairs, especially for the disabled and the elderly. If there are more than three levels, builders should take care of installing a stable railing. Before starting work, it is important to make drawings with dimensions. Then you can begin preparing the substrate, for the manufacture of which concrete is also used.

Tools and materials

You will need:

Cement mortar;

Crushed stone;

Screwdriver;

Sand;

Boards for formwork;

Reinforcing mesh, wire;

Self-tapping screws, metal corners;

A wooden float;

A jigsaw;

Drill;

Scissors for cutting metal;

Concrete mixer;

Screed.

Wood lags behind concrete surfaces after they have solidified, but this material has a significant drawback. The boards are jammed and spoiled by varying moisture penetration. If you are going to use the same boards when building several flights of stairs, you will have to protect them from damage. Before you put the fittings and pour the porch, the tree is covered with the special dense material that will protect it from moisture, for example, roofing material. In case if there is no necessary building material at hand, the wooden boards are varnished. To fasten the formwork, self-tapping screws should be used. Experts do not recommend using nails since the fastening will be difficult to disassemble.

Construction work consists of the following stages

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First, you need to do the preparatory work. Builders argue that the soil should not be used as a basis for the design since its structure varies with a low-temperature regime. Frosts affect the condition of the soil and, as a consequence can cause deformation in concrete and steps. Workers must remove the top layer of the soil. It is necessary to remove the soil, which completely freezes during freezing. You need to remove more than thirty centimeters of soil. Thus, you will be able to protect the stair from the negative effects of low temperatures.

To create a reliable foundation for a concrete structure, you need to remove the soil not only under the future staircase but around it (at least ten centimeters along the perimeter of the prepared site). Then you need to fill stairs perfectly with concrete and pit with gravel. It will serve as the basis for pouring concrete. It is desirable to use medium-sized gravel, otherwise, it will lie unevenly.

After that, the pad is moistened, rammed, leveled, and is topped on top, the layer of which should be up to five centimeters thick. The material is covered with sand for waterproofing (for example, polyethylene). It is important to glue or weld each seam. Thus, the filled stages can be protected from penetration of moisture.

Reinforcement

The stair should be made so that it reliably attached to the building. To solve this problem will help the use of inserts from the reinforcement – they will fasten concrete structures. Builders can insert the reinforcing mesh into the cement foundation using drilling. For this, holes are made in the foundation, and then special pins are inserted into them. Reinforcement of the concrete ladder is carried out by strengthening the main nodes, the rest of the space of the future porch is covered with a grid.

Decking

Workers begin pouring concrete steps from the preparation of the formwork. It will give the concrete solution the necessary shape. For the frame components, specialists use wood or metal, but in this case, it is preferable to make timber formwork. You can save construction materials by creating a small elevation in the center of the future porch.

Stair decking

The elevation is made of medium-sized gravel. Due to such actions, you will be able to use the less concrete mix. Builders should calculate the amount of mortar, taking into account that along the entire perimeter of the construction layer of the concrete mixture should be a minimum of thirty centimeters. At the beginning of the construction work, it is necessary to assemble the formwork, each side of which can be identified with the cutouts of the staircase or have similar shapes.

Appearance of the formwork

Stair framing

It is important that the frame is strong, as the formwork must withstand the concrete solution. For fixing the boards from the front, metal or wood stakes are used. Behind each side, the builders are fixed to the wall. Installing the frame, you need to consider all the values indicated in the drawing – any bias will affect the appearance of the ladder. Also, the builders cut out the transverse wooden elements, with which the steps are formed. The height of the steps is about seventeen centimeters, width – thirty centimeters, but you can choose the right parameters depending on individual preferences. Installation of transverse elements is determined by the features of the sidewalls.

So, they can be placed directly on the grooves or fixed on the screws, angles, if the structure of the sidewalls is solid. After the complete assembly of the wooden structure, it is wedged and then fixed. This excludes its extrusion under the onset of the cement slurry. The upper part of the sidewalls should be connected by the slats across, and outside they are fixed by pins.

Pour concrete into the formwork

The composition of the cement mixture includes sand and Portland cement. In addition, crushed stone is added to the solution – it serves as a filler that increases the volume of concrete and reduces the consumption of building material. Experts advise adding as much water to the cement mixture as necessary for a homogeneous solution. However, it is important to take into account: if the composition is less water, then the concrete will be stronger.

Pour stair with concrete

After that, you can start pouring the concrete mixture into the formwork. Sometimes builders add stones to concrete: this will help reduce material consumption. Then, when the mold is partially filled, it is necessary to tap the formwork in order to exclude the formation of voids inside. The formwork is disassembled after the concrete has dried.

Dismantling of wooden formwork. The form is recommended to be removed one month after the concrete was poured. During this period, the solution must dry, otherwise, the probability of deforming the steps is high.

Lining

Concrete can be faced with different materials. This will extend the life of the porch since the base of the concrete steps will be protected from environmental influences. In addition, the cladding will make it possible to decorate the staircase beautifully. Builders use several options for finishing concrete fenders.

Lining

Tile from porcelain tiles. This building material is made of white clay, in which minerals are added. Due to roasting, it becomes very durable, so this facing is considered to be one of the most durable. Adding pigments allows you to give the tile a different shade.

Clinker (red clay tiles). This material is recognized as safe for the environment since no harmful additives are included in the title composition. The tiles have different shapes.

Conclusion

If you carry out construction work, following the instructions on fill stairs perfectly with concrete, using properly drawn up drawings and high-quality building materials. You can make a stair with your own hands no worse than professionals.